planBE

Necessity is the mother of invention. Look ma, no bit! Q was developping lip sores because his baby bit became too small for his growing mouth. It was too bad because it was a great little bit and thin enough for his small mouth. I have a new-to-me bit which will probably work well although it doesn’t have the copper. Meanwhile, I didn't want to aggravate the sores with any bit so I decided to finally try a hackamore. I tried the barn sidepull but didn’t like how it sat on his face. Then our fearless BO pulls out this rope thing she got in Costa Rica and I thought it might be cool to try. I pulled it on and proceeded to a group lesson doing drill work. It was all at a walk and a great transition session for the change in steering wheel. Obviously the pressure points are completely different with this bridle. Instead of direct pull reins it works better with neckrein and a more “suggestive” steering. Turns out that Q loves it and I was able to confirm that his neckrei...

After a long wait, the new western saddle has arrived. Within a few days I had logged in eight hours on the trail and about 40 km, and although my hip was screaming after the long first ride (longer leg drape changes the hip angle and requires some adjusting) I was good to go by ride #3 with the help of advil. I have been riding both western and english for several decades now, and while I love my A/P County saddle it isn't the best solution for the long trail rides that I regularly do. The western saddle provides a broader weight distribution and is also safer for those 180 degree spins when the deer / wild turkey / chasing dog / atv / x-country skier / snowshoer / jogger / biker / baby carriage (you get the idea) causes a spook. It is also the better way to start a colt. Lots of leather and flopping around does a good amount of desensitizing. And it has a stabilizing effect on those first rides. First day with the new saddle When Q first arrived home, I did the basic i...

It was a lovely day at Spruce Meadows and it turns out that our 5$ rush entrance gave us a good spot to see the CP International (first place wins 1M$). We locked in to a cute terrace on the north side with easy access to washrooms, hot tea and soup. As the weather cooled, that was a good thing. It also turned out to be a great spot to watch a technical hairpin turn from a triple to a skinny that left many riders knocking rails. At one point it almost felt that every rider I took a picture of was jinxed. But then the final riders appeared in the large group of 50, and the clear rounds started multiplying. Of course everyone was rooting for homeboy Eric Lamaze, who despite his brain tumour is doing great and had won the Suncor cup the previous day. But Beezie Madden took the CP International cup, and 1M$ Cdn, with a fast clear round in the jump off with chunky stallion Darry Lou. It seems like Darry Lou is not too good with people and standing around so he got to go back to his...

I was bribed to come for a weekend in Calgary with a promise to go to Spruce Meadows. Always one to jump for a new adventure, we quickly secured our plans and booked our trip. But I had another special plan while my husband hung out with his childhood buddies ... and it involved horses. About 30 minutes from Spruce Meadows is the beginning of Kananaskis, and the Moose Mountain. I booked a dayride at a local outfitter and got the homerun: great weather, solo ride with an awesome guide, and a good horse (Noah). The trail conditions were SO SO different from what Im used to in my cushy bridle paths back home. Here it was up, down, over trees, mud, aspen forests, amazing lookouts. It was wild and beautiful without a hint of development or urban sprawl. The ranch is on 380 acres of their own property and the horses are out 12-16 hours a day on huge meadows to hang out and play around. They live in a big herd of 40+ horses. My sweet steed Noah was quiet and responsive, never trying ...

Crisp evening temperatures, sharper shadows of light, schoolbuses on the road ... and the first tree turned red! I had been seeing hints of colour along the edges of meadows, but this red maple beauty was waiting for me around the bend of one of my favourite trails. First red tree of the year! We pickled some peppers this weekend, in preparation for our eventual crop of alma paprika. Hubby felt it was important we road-tested the brine and canning process before we did the deed with his harvest of precious spicy jewels. So bell peppers from costco filled in. I added different flavours to each jar to see if it made a difference (plain, five peppers, cardamom, caraway). We now have to wait 6 weeks before we taste them. First pickled peppers! Aside from that it was a weekend of riding, bbqing and celebrating hubby’s new job. Yesterday was my first real ride in six days (after weeks of almost daily riding) and when my trail buddy cantered we almost had no brakes. It was a...